Take a college campus for example. Walk down the halls of any residence hall on campus and you will hear many different types of music. Although they may disagree on every other artist, there is one that most people can agree on. That band is O.A.R.
The band, which is made up of five guys from Maryland, has a very up-beat sound, playing music that is a mix of rock and roll and reggae. With hits like “That Was a Crazy Game of Poker” and “Love and Memories,” they attracted a big following, especially in the college scene.
I was lucky enough to get the chance to talk to Benj Gershman, the band’s bass player, who gave me some insight as to what O.A.R. is all about.
It all started with a group of high school friends in Maryland and soon continued through their college years in Ohio. They chose the name Of A Revolution from a story called "The Wanderer" that was written by one of the band members. But according to Gershman, they didn’t expect this much success.
"I never had any idea it would be what it is now," Gershman said. "I had no idea it would be like this."
O.A.R. signed on with indie record label Everfine where their success, along with their fan base, continued to grow. The band would later sign with Lava Records, a major record label, as a way to expand their audience.
Just like every other successful band, O.A.R. has been putting on sold out concerts all over the country. But don’t expect to find these guys going wild.
"[We] hang out," Gershman said of he and his band mates while they are on tour. "We don’t live very eccentric lives. We work on tunes and try to make sure we’re healthy and all those things responsible adults like to do."
Although they love seeing the world while out on tour, being away from home for so long does have its disadvantages. Gershman says two disadvantages of being on tour are "missing your loved ones and wanting to be in two places."
With all of the excitement of touring and making records, you would think that these guys don’t have time for anything other than the band. But they do spend a lot of time working with different charities, something they feel is very important. They’ve worked with Musicians On Call playing music for sick children, donated money to Liberty High School to help the school’s band and worked with Miracle for Madison which is a charity supporting Spinal Muscular Atrophy.
Charitable organizations aren’t the only ones to benefit from O.A.R. The band has helped its own members.
"In so many ways it’s helped me be more confident, more of a people person [and] enjoy traveling," Gershman said.
Is there anything O.A.R. can’t do? In the past 10 years, they’ve shown that they are capable of almost anything. We can only wait and see what they do in the next 10 years.
Powered by AkoComment 2.0!
